Reuben Droughns' football career will not be interrupted by his pending
domestic violence trial this season.
Droughns pleaded not guilty Monday morning in a Colorado court room to two
counts of harassment and one count of assault in his domestic violence
case stemming from an altercation with his wife, Kellie Droughns, on May 12.
A trial date has been set for Feb. 5, 2007. That is one day after Super Bowl
XLI in Miami.
A motion hearing is set for Oct. 25, but Droughns does not have to appear.
Short of having the charges dropped, Droughns got what he wanted. Just before
leaving Sunday night he said he wanted the trial pushed back to 2007 so he could
play all 16 games and not miss any practice time.
Droughns still faces up to 2 1/2 years in prison and suspension by the NFL if
found guilty, but that won't happen in 2006 if it happens at all. The bad news
for Droughns is the Arapahoe County District Attorney's office is not letting
the matter drop.
"The District Attorney believes there is enough material to move forward,"
said Kathleen Walsh, spokesperson for the Arapahoe County Prosecutor's office.
Droughns threw his wife out the front door of their home in Centennial, Colo.
on May 12, according to the arrest report.
Droughns remains the starting running back, Browns
coach Romeo Crennel said. He is expected back on the practice field Tuesday.
Braylon Might Play
Braylon Edwards was in full pads for 11 on 11 drills
for the first time this training camp Monday morning. He might play against the
Bills Saturday. If he does, it would his first action since tearing his ACL Dec.
4.
"We’ll have to see how the practice week goes,"
Crennel said. "If the week goes well and he's feeling good, we might have to
give him one or two reps to see if he can move around against some different
competition.
“He’s making good progress. The game is always
different. Your teammates know what your issues are, but your opponent doesn’t
care what the issues are. We’re being conservative and cautious. We’ll give him
a few reps when we think he’s ready.”
Edwards said his main goal is to be 100 percent for
the start of the regular season.